My family has a history of cancer which means every five years, I must get a colonoscopy. Today is my lucky day.
Anyone who says they enjoy getting a colonoscopy needs their head examined.
While preparation for the procedure is a nuisance, that’s not my big complaint.
My problem is by the time the procedure is done; I will have gone without food for over thirty hours. This is a truly heavy burden for someone as delicate as me.
Early this morning, weakened by a lack of food, I slowly got out of bed and staggered to the bathroom. There, I looked in the mirror at the skeleton looking back at me. I wondered if I would die before I have my procedure this afternoon.
It’s not that I don’t have enough fat reserves to go without food for a very long time. It’s the fact food is forbidden. It’s off limits. This has really messed with my psyche. I don’t do well when I am told there’s something I cannot do or have. I don’t do well with boundaries.
This is where most of us fall.
When we give ourselves to Jesus, we subscribe to a way of life guided by love and governed by boundaries that prevent us from doing damage to ourselves or others.
When God told Adam and Eve they could eat from any tree in Eden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it was a boundary for their own protection. For them, this boundary meant God was asking too much. They ate the fruit and did irreparable harm that could only be overcome by Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection.
While we live in a fallen world that rejects boundaries, faithful followers of Jesus accept there are some lines we cannot cross. This includes boundaries set by scripture that we may not fully understand.
Today, make the conscious decision to only do what will bring a smile to God’s beautiful face. Do everything in your power to stay within God’s boundaries.
Jesus summed up God’s boundaries by saying, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40)
Love God, loving everyone else, and staying in the boundaries isn’t always easy, but it is the best thing we can do.
Give it a try. You’ll be glad you did.
I pray your day is filled with joy and laughter.
Tom Robbins
Daily Devotionals by Dr. Tom Robbins 